Natembeya: Govt is playing with fire, this is how Haiti started
Trans-Nzoia County Governor George Natembeya has warned the government about how it deals with the demonstrations.
Natembeya criticised the state for its unwillingness to confront the truth and engage with pertinent issues raised by Kenyans, instead opting to silence dissent rather than address the concerns.
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“The government is playing with fire; this is how Haiti started. Criminal elements will take over this country, and not even the police will be safe,” he cautioned during an interview on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, with a local radio station.
This statement aligns with recent observations in Kenya, where civic space is narrowing, and dissent is met with regulation rather than dialogue, as noted in a local news article from July 6, 2025, which highlights a worrying pattern of governments equating loyalty with silence and governance with moral authority.
The context of Natembeya’s remarks is set against a backdrop of increasing governmental control.
While holding this discussion on serious societal issues, Natembeya insisted that the Kenyan government’s handling of criminal gangs could lead to a scenario similar to Haiti’s, where gangs have gained “near-total control” of the capital, Port-au-Prince, as reported by the U.N. on July 3, 2025.
This comparison is grounded in the context of Haiti, where criminal gangs have expanded their influence, controlling major trade routes and establishing parallel governance structures, leading to significant disruptions in public services and legal commerce, as detailed in a U.N. report.
The discussion highlights the potential danger of gang proliferation in Kenya, drawing on the Haitian example to underscore the urgency of addressing the issue, especially given the understaffed and underfunded U.N.-backed mission in Haiti, which arrived to quell gang violence but has not been fully effective.
Natembeya also added that the government does not want to hear the truth, even though Kenyans have raised serious issues.
“This government doesn’t like to be confronted with the truth. Kenyans are raising very pertinent issues, but the government is not willing to listen. When you raise these issues, instead of them responding to the issues, they use the alternative way, and that’s silencing,” he added.
